Sheet-pickling method



Fe. 9 192s.

J. B. TYTUS SHEET PICKLING METHOD Filed May 12, 1925 70K?. ha

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Patented Feb. 9,1926.

UNITED STATI-2s PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. TYTUS, OF MIDDLETOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO TI-IE AMERICAN ROLLING MIL COMPANY, OF MIDDLETOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION F OHIO.`

SHEET-PICKLING` METHOD.

Application filed May 12, 19225. Serial No. 29,826.

To all whom t may conce-rn.:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. TY'rUs, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Middletown, in the county of Butler and 5 State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Pickling Methods, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification. v My invention relates to methods for pick ling iron and steel sheets and plates by electrolytic' action in an electrolyte throughv which the sheets and plates are caused to pass.

The product of the sheet and thin plate mill in the processes of today is in the form of` pieces of considerable width, and of limited length. The pieces have unfinished front and back ends, and in calculating the amount of metal to be used in the pieces or packs from which the thin plates and sheets are rolled, enough excess is used to permit of the ends of the final products being cut olf, as waste to leave square ends.

Any pickling operation requiring the l.formation of an electric contact with sheets and plates, has in the past been impractical because of the necessity of making proper;

80 contact with alarge number of fairly short pieces, which is the only form in which such products have been capable of production.

It is the object of my process to provide a practical and inexpensive way of provid ing for electric contact with sheets, and plates, and feeding them `through an electrolyte. In attaining my object I first form a continuous piece of any batch of sheets or plates to be treated, forming an electric as well as a physical connection between the pieces. After the pickling operation I cut out the portions used as a connection, thus leaving the final product with square ends, and removing those portions used for connection which will be inadequately pickled due to overlap necessary for' a simple mode of connection.

This invention is a species of the two inventions set forth in my co-pcnding applications, Serial No. 629,764, and Serial No. 635,985, filed April 4th, 1923, and May 1st, 1923, respectively. y

I accomplish my objects by that certain Figure 1 is a plan View of a piece of sheet metal showing typical ends.

Figure 2 is a plan view. indicating the mode of uniting the pieces of sheet metal into a continuous strip.

Figure 3 is a diagram of a' plant for employing the process.

The result of the sheet rolling process, in which due to the nature of the mills used, the product is always short and with ends which are uneven, is indicated in Figure 1.

In this figure the body of the sheet is indicated at l, and the line to which shearing must be done to give a square end of the length of the order on which the piece was rolled, is indicated by the dotted line 2. The rough ends of the sheet are indicated at 3 and 4, in which 4 is the back end of the sheet, as itemerges from the rolls.

In order to obtain an edge to which 1t 1s feasible to work in the operation of stitching or welding the sheets together, and to facilitate and assure a proper length individual piece at the end of the process, my first operation is to trim the sheet back to as straight an edge as possible, leaving a the lines 3 and 4 of final trim, at each end of the piece. The first trim thus provides a straight edge to work to in aligning the sheets, for welding, stitching or otherwise securing` them together, and as noted in Figure 2, the operation will be to overlap thev sheets, hy the amount to be later cut out, so that the line 5 of one sheet, being its first trim will be laid over the end vof the preceding sheet and brought to a position to coincide with what will be the final trim line 3, at that end of the sheet. This will also bring the cut edge 5 of' the under sheet end to coincide with the Iimaginarylne of final trim 4 of the overlapping sheet.

Thus if there is left a space one and ouchalf inches to be finally trimmed away, after the first trim on each sheet, the overlap-will be one and one-half inches. Vvhen the process is over, and it is desired to form the sheets into individual pieces again, the

will then have individual pieces of the re uired length.

n practice the uniting' of the pieces is preferably made by spot welding them, l

although stitching y a die -and forming plate has been successfully used by me.

As a pickling apparatus I have indicated va series of acid or alkaline liquor compartments 6, filled with liquor to the line 7 or IU-otherWiSe, as may be deemed most convene'nt.v i

On the top of each partition I have indi.-

cated a drum'of Wood 8, which drums are revolved by suitable power at'the desired speed to maintain the metal vin contact with theliquor the required length of time.

I have indicated the continuous band of sheets united together at 9; and this band is passed over the -drums and is moved along l ,by them, with Adepending loops of the band,

dipping down into the electrolyte.

I have indicated curved electrodes 10, .in

the bottom of the tanks, and straight electrodes 11, depending'into the loops. This l5 arrangement of electrodes is merely pref-l erential with me. 'y

I have indicated a source of electric current bythe generator 12, from which con- `ductors"12e-leadto the several electrodes.

l The piece -itself is'provided with current through contact rollers-13 of conductive materials, whichj are provided with current from .'the other side of the generator by conductors- 13.' I

l5 I preferably use'the conductor rollers at` interspaced points and not over every roll,

as this permits me to manipulate the loops of metal intermediate tanks, should'therel be a machine stoppage, before manipulating l O the loops on which the rollersbear.

l As a`sol11tion in the tank, there are several accepted sulphuric acid solutions "and `alkaff l line solutions, for use in .electrolytic pickling 4of iron and steel. The band ..wi1l usually 'be 415hl made the cathode inthe acid, and in the alkaline solutions, it may bemade the anode# *The particular mode of. effectinga picki ling is not an invention on iny part, and my u inventic'm` lies in the mode of passing a,

large number of sheets through a. pickli'ng bath, and establishing'. current` connections; therewith.

Any

piece' of metal which ymust vbepro.-

l u duced'in short lengths because of its width, f

and hence rolling process limitations in length, whether'a sheet or plate, lies within the scope of my invention. Also the mode of. bringing the current to the band of end for end attached pieces, and eeding'the band is merely preferential. Also the treatment known as pickling is not the only electrolytic treatment or which my invention is adapted. y

Having thus. described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let'- v ters Patent, is

1. A. process for electrolytically treating iron or steelpieces which `because of their width must be produced in short lengths, which consists in uniting the pieces end for end, feeding the band so-:formed through an electrolyte containing suitable electrodes and establishing current connection with the baud to convert it into an electrode.

iron or steel pieces which because of their .width .must be producedA inshort lengths,

which consists in uniting the pieces end for lend, feeding the bandv so formed through an electrolyte, containing suitable electrodes and'establishing current connection with" the band to convert it into 'an' electrode, said connection being applied'to the band as it travels.

3. A. processfor electrolytically treating iron orsteel pieces'which because of theirv width` must be produced short lengths, which. consists in trimming the pieces to leave end-portions for overlap which is excess material of the pieces, being part of the ends Y which would have to be trimmed o to 'shear the pieces to finished length, overlapping the pieces onsecutively end for end, uniting the y v i pieces into a band .at thev said overlaps and feeding said band through an electrolyte in thelpresence of suitable electrodes, and -establilshing current connections withi the said ban. 4.] A process for electrolyticallyy treating iron or steel pieces whichsbecause o f theirv width must be' produced in short lengths,-

lyte, and establishing arolling electric con# tact with thebandas it'ipassesover at least one 'of' the revolving parts.

`whichconsists in uniting thefpieces `end vfor y 

